the HaHamisha Forest AND DESCENT TO Ein Kfira

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Hike on the HaRuach Mountain range for wonderful views of the two wadis on either side﻿, Nahal Yital and Nahal Kfira, and of the Judean Mountains and Shefela. Also walk down to Nahal Kifra to the spring of Ein Kfira. Ahead of you is Tel Kfira, the site of the ancient Gibeonite town of Kfira.

Time:3 hours/ 4¼ hours if visiting Ein Kfira

Distance: Almost 9½ Km/ 12½ Km if visiting Ein Kafira

Type of hike: Circular

Difficulty: An easy hike, but with some moderate inclines. Minimally difficult descent to Ein Kfira climbing on rocks.

Security: You will be hiking close to Arab villages, but there is separation by the security barrier.

Starting point: Picnic area by the Red Army Memorial.

Directions: Enter “הצבא האדום” into Waze, and click on "כניסה ליער ע׳׳ש הצבא האדום“. Two brown signs point you to HaHamisha Forest and Mt. HaRuach from the main road.﻿Parking is on the sides of the jeep trail. ﻿

Public transport: There is no convenient public transport. The nearest bus stop is at Ma’ale HaHamisha, which is about a 2.4 Km walk to the start of the hike. ﻿Enter "Maale HaHamisha" into Moovit. Buses leave frequently from the Jerusalem central bus station or Binyanei Ha'umah to the kibbutz.

OVERVIEW

BIBLICAL KFIRA

This hike is on the HaRuach Mountain range between Nahal Yitla on one side and Nahal Kfira on the other, the latter being a tributary of Nahal Ayalon.TelKfira is within Nahal Kfira, and this tel will dominate your view as you walk through Nahal Kfira, and also during the last section of this hike.

There are interesting Biblical connections with the area in which you are now hiking.﻿ Tel Kfira has been identified with the city of Kfira, a city that belonged to the ancient Gibeonites. As related in Joshua chapter 9, this Canaanite tribe was fearful of the Israelite invasion, and dressed up as worn out and weary travellers, their representatives pretended to have come from far away and approached Joshua for a peace covenant. The Israelites were fooled, and only later did they discover that the Gibeonites lived in the Judean Mountains only 3 day's walk away. Nevertheless, the Israelites had good reason to maintain this agreement, although they would become their water carriers and woodcutters for the Israelites. The Gibeonite's main city of Gibeon (now al-Jib) controlled an important intersection - the main north-south highway through the mountain range from Shechem to Hebron and an east-west road crossing the Ayalon Valley and ending at Gilgal in the Jordan Valley. The Gibeonites also had other cities that were now effectively neutralized, including Kfira and nearby Kiryat Ye’arim (Joshua 9:17). The latter may have been close to nearby present-day Tel Stone, or even Abu Gosh. However, five nearby Canaanite cities realized the significance of the Gibeonite capitulation, and they formed an alliance to attack Gibeon. The Gibeonites appealed to Joshua for help, and the Israelites made a surprise and successful raid on the alliance (Joshua chapter 10). It was a crucial move. In defeating these kings, Joshua had in effect succeeded in conquering the southern part of Israel, without the need to besiege these cities individually.

When Joshua divided up the land, this part of the country was given to the tribe of Benjamin as a relatively narrow strip of land between the tribe of Judah to the south and Ephraim to the north, and extending from the Gilgal in the Jordan Valley to Kiryat Ye’arim in the west (Joshua 18:26).

Tel Kfira is now under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. However, excavations have been carried out here, and ruins have found of fortified cities from the Bronze Age to Second Temple times.

The hike:

By the first signpost in the picnic area, take the fork in the direction of "הצבא האדום". Within a short distance you will come to an unimposing memorial to the Red Army erected here in 1950.

A first reaction could well be – what is this doing here?This monument and this part of the Har Ruach Forest were planted in honor of the victory of the Red Army victory over the Nazis during the 2nd World War. This monument is a reminder that there was a high regard for Communism among many of the early Zionist pioneers. The inscription reads: "This Forest was planted by the residents of Israel in honor of the Soviet Army, 1950". On the Saturday closest to May 9, the day the Red Army was victorious over the Germans, thousands of left-wing supporters of Russia used to gather for celebrations and a picnic. As positive sentiments for communism diminished, so did the number of attendees for this celebration.

After viewing the monument, return to the signpost and take the blue-marked jeep trail in the direction“בית חיל” and “מצפור יתלה” . There are two stops to make along this path. After about 15-20 minute’s walking, on the right, is an observation area with excellent views and a sign pointing out what you are viewing. Kiryat Sofer can be seen in the distance and on a clear day you can see all the way to Natanya and Hadera.

About 40 meters from this, on the left, is a stone memorial to five young men murdered by Arab terrorists in 1937 while working on afforestation and paving roads for the Jewish National Fund .

As a result of these murders, it was decided to establish a new settlement in their memory. It was called Ma’ale HaHamisha and was started by pioneers then living in Kiryat Anavim. This was the second settlement to be formed in the Judean Mountains and was intended to form a defensive position in this area. The lack of good agricultural land forced the kibbutz to develop sources of income other than agriculture, including a hotel. This hotel is still operative, although it is no longer under the management of the kibbutz. During the 1948 War of Independence, Ma’ale HaHamisha was attacked twice by the Jordanian Arab Legion, and these were successfully repulsed. The women and children were evacuated and the kibbutz became the command center for the Palmach. Fighters set out from here for actions at the Castel and other places in the Judean Mountains. Some of the fighters slept in a part of the hotel. After the 1948 War of Independence, Ma’ale HaHamisha found itself close the armistice line between Israel and Jordan. The kibbutz was subsequently privatized.

At the next intersection and signpost, turn left on the footpath following the sign to "נחל יתלה" to another observation area close to the intersection. There is a sign here indicating what you are viewing, as well as a picnic area with picnic benches and play equipment.

Return to the intersection and turn onto the red trail in the direction of “ חוות עזים”. As you descend on this trail, you will see the entrance to the goat farm on the right. [The Har HaRuach Goat Cheese Farm can be visited on Friday 10.00 AM–4.00 PM and Saturday 11.00 AM–5.00 PM and cheeses are sold then. Their telephone numbers are: 054 466 3353, 054 493 4566, and 02 534 5660].

At the end of the red trail, cross over the main road to the parking area, and look for the black-marked footpath.

To visit Ein Kfira, turn onto the green-marked trail a short distance from the beginning of the black trail. The path﻿ descends gradually into the valley.

After about 45 minutes on this trail, you pass the ruins of a Sheik’s tomb on your left, some distance from the trail. Shortly after this, there is a stone wall and just before a solitary palm tree is a footpath to the right. The pool of Ein Kafira is just before the rock face. It is fed by two sources of water, one near the pool and the other higher up. The amount of water in the pool is seasonal.

This is as far as you need go on this trail. Turn around and go back to the black-marked trail and turn left. As you walk along this trail you will see below you the prominent hill of Tel Kfira and at its base the Arab village of Katana.

The trail passes the outskirts ofMa'ale HaHamisha and ends on the main road. Turn left and you will soon see the brown signs to HaHamisa Forest and Mt. HaRuach. Turn down this road to your car.

This is not the only Red Army monument in Israel. There is also a Victory Monument in Natanya opened by Vladimir Putin in 2012.

The monument to the five killed on this path by Arab terroristsin 1937﻿.